Aquaman(3) #4
Title: A Porpoise In Life
Cover Title: Hooked!
Cover Date: December 1994
Writer: Peter David
Pencils: Marty Egeland
Inks: Howard Shum
Colors: Tom McCraw
Lettering: Dan Nakrosis and Kevin Cunningham
Asst. Editor: Eddie Berganza
Editor: Kevin Dooley
Cover: Marty Egeland and John Dell III
Cover Price: $1.50
Continuity: IN
OVERVIEW:
Admiral Strom tells Aquaman where to find Porm, in the meantime, Lobo has been alerted (by the flying Dolphin) and is on the way. Doctor Shinobi of the Shinobi institute is studying Dolphins, and the captain who brought in Porm wants a bonus because he thinks all these dolphins can fly (He normally would've sold the dolphins for meat, but brought them to the institute because of the flying dolphin).
Both Lobo and Aquaman find the labs, just as the captain returns to take the dolphins away from Doctor Shinobi. Lobo starts to kill, Aquaman tries to save Doctor Shinobi. While Lobo mops up the bad guys, Aquaman takes Doctor Shinobi to the Dolphins, who give him a decent burial.
Tanaka, the captain, survives Lobo's attentions, only to be left to die by Aquaman in shark infested waters.
COMMENTS:
"Oh No. Why AQUAMAN? Couldn't the pasty ghoul leave my book alone!??!?!??!"
Er. Excuse me. I was *NOT* pleased about the appearance of Lobo in Aquaman, especially so early in the run. I am not a fan of Lobo, or of the sense of humor that the character caters to. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome, though. An interesting story in a great many ways.
Doctor Shinobi is a wonderful character, and I wish we could've seen more of him. His ideals and dreams make him a good addition to the Aquaman universe, and I hope he gets born again as a dolphin.
While Aquaman uses a subtle approach, Lobo is a wee bit more direct. The contrast in style is part of the appeal of this book.
Also contrast the pure ideals of Doctor Shinobi to the villainy of Captain Tanaka. Tanaka and Lobo also make an interesting contrast, one out for profit, one out for revenge.
The "death" of Tanaka is another one of those cases of "no body" that should have been tended to, because Tanaka just might be back...
CONCLUSION:
This issue is not exactly a must read, but I'd put it high on my list of books that are worth getting. I really enjoyed Lobo's appearance, to my surprise, and the supporting characters in this chapter are simply wonderful. Doctor Shinobi gets my vote as one of the best one-shot characters in comics.